


Greatness is from within

by MidgardianNerd



Series: The war who wasn't their [1]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Prince Ben Solo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-17
Updated: 2017-10-17
Packaged: 2019-01-18 11:20:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12387051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidgardianNerd/pseuds/MidgardianNerd
Summary: The highest of distinctions is service to others. _ George VI





	Greatness is from within

**Author's Note:**

  * For [idrilhadhafang](https://archiveofourown.org/users/idrilhadhafang/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Rise of a Prince](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12228048) by [idrilhadhafang](https://archiveofourown.org/users/idrilhadhafang/pseuds/idrilhadhafang), [MidgardianNerd](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidgardianNerd/pseuds/MidgardianNerd). 



> I'm too involved in Prince!Ben Solo fate. I will protect him of all the stereotypes of his character which seem to be a law in the fandom and I will make him the great Prince he can be.

The night was almost full dark except for the quarter of moon shining in the sky. Poe was shivering under is light cloak. The weather became awful, cold and rainy in the last week and took everyone by surprise. Any of them was really expecting to be in the full winter so soon. Warm cloaks were on their way but still not enough for all of them. Poe was still waiting for his cloak after having given to a young boy, almost a child, the first one he got. Poe would have given everything to put any kind of hope on this young face.

Especially after the last morning. The whole camp has awaken with the dreadful sight of their enemy on the other side of the river. The war has never been so close to them, the reality of the battle, the knowledge that death would hit a lot of them. Poe felt a new shiver along his spine, not anymore because of the cold air of the night. He was afraid. And not ashamed to admit it. Being a soldier didn't mean to not have fear of death, it meant that this fear was the only motive you needed to fight. And Poe had more than one motives. He had these young boys and girls to protect. Rose deserved to see more mornings. The few knights from the Organa Kingdom who join him. And his prince. Ben Solo. Ben. Who in the last few weeks prove to them he could become a great king. Poe never doubt it. But now, he could really feel it, could really touch this possibility. Ben Solo deserved to live. To be the great king he will become. To prove them all, there, in their kingdom, who were thinking he was just a spoiled child.

That's for them. All of them. For these people he cared a lot about that Poe was awake in the middle of the night, walking through the wet grass and the cold air. Because there was a threat, so close to them. And Poe would not let them sneaking in their camp. He heard rumors about them. How cold-minded his enemy was, how he killed, without a doubt. Poe would not let them having an opportunity to end this war even before it has begun. Poe was a knight, his duty to protect. And that was what he was doing at this right moment. And when he saw a tall shadow standing at the border of the camp, he put his hand on his sword, ready to place it on the throat of whoever it was.

 

« You will not need that Poe. » whispered a deep voice and Poe relaxed when he recognized the voice of his prince.

 

Now that he was closer, Poe could recognize the huge frame of Ben Solo. He was standing like a proud figure in the wind, his black cloak around him, giving him an elegant aura of authority.

 

« Can I join you ? » asked Poe, not wanting to disturb Ben who apparently has been here for a long time.

 

Ben turned his head on the side, his face hidden by his hood but a gloved hand made a sign to invite him to join him. Silent, Poe came closer and soon stood next the taller man. Ben has always been taller than Poe and Ben had the habit to shrink to make other more comfortable in his presence. Poe never liked when Ben was trying to make himself smaller. Ben had his detractors, people who weren't even trying to understand how hard being the only heir of a kingdom could be. But Poe had never felt more safe than when Ben was standing in his all stature : head up, broad chest and his whole frame made to protect.

They stayed silent for a long time, hearing the noises coming from the enemy camp across the river. Ben had his eyes focused on the fires burning on the other side. Poe looked up at this handsome face. The moon was shining on this pale skin and the light accentuated the golden brown eyes of Ben. Poe was unable to read what he was thinking, that was one of the talent of the prince since he was a teen. Poe saw him perfecting his pokerface during the long counsel sessions and everytime he wanted to go against the counsellors of the Queen and their ideas of an old time. Poe was loving his Queen, of course he was. But she wasn't eternal and one day, Ben would be the one to rule their kingdom. Unfortunately, this idea didn't seem to be in his Queen's mind.

Ben has made his duty. He had attended every political session his mother asked him to do. And even if he looked bored everytime, Poe could have seen in his eyes that he was attentive to everything. Ben was ready. Poe knew it. Ben knew it. And King Solo knew it. But Queen Organa, she didn't. She was so eager to not be a tyrant, to rule with the advice of her counsellors than she was willing too much to listen to them when they were saying that the prince wasn't ready. Ben would be an unconventional ruler, of course. But it didn't mean he wasn't ready to learn the traditional way to govern.

Poe got out of his thoughts when he sensed more than heard the sigh which escaped Ben's lips. Poe looked at him again. And he saw. He saw the signs : the worry, the sadness, the weariness. The burden he was carrying on his broad shoulders. All the signs of how much he was involved in the fate of his kingdom, of his people, of his allies. All the signs that he will be a great king.

 

« You think I'm a fool. » whispered Ben, still not looking at Poe.

« What ? »

« They all think I shouldn't be there. I will just be a burden in the battle. » sighed Ben, looking down, few hair falling on his eyes.

 

Poe could felt his heart breaking. All the royalty members he met before has been at best proud of themselves, at worst, arrogant. But so eaten by doubt, so eager to think they were useless, he never met. Nobody except Ben. Poe grabbed Ben's arm and made him look at him. Poe could feel his own eyes being teary and maybe it was the cold air or maybe it was because this anger he felt in him was unsufferable.

 

« You aren't. And you will not be. » said in a stern voice Poe. It was time. Time that someone explained to the prince that he was deserving respect and trust.

« People aren't trusting me. How they could ? » sighed Ben. « I disobeyed my mother's orders. »

« And you did the right thing. » answered Poe without an hesitation.

 

Ben finally looked up at him, surprised to hear such words in Poe's mouth. Poe Dameron. The loyal knight. The most trusted man of Leia Organa. But in Poe's eyes, Ben could see that he wasn't lying. He wasn't saying that because he had pity of him. He said it because he believed it.

 

« I respect your mother. She's a great woman and a good queen. But she was wrong. » said Poe, getting closer to Ben. « These people ! They deserve our help. How could we still be able to sleep at night ? How could we still be able to be a proud people if we weren't helping our friends when they need our help ? »

« She is protecting her people. » said Ben, trying to avoid Poe's eyes, full of passion and maybe some anger, justified at Ben's opinion.

« To protect isn't just saving people physically. » answered Poe.

 

Ben looked at him, long. His deep dark eyes were focusing on Poe's face, like searching for his soul. Poe let him do it. Ben needed his trust. And Poe wanted to give it to him.

 

« You don't have to believe me on this point. But believe me when I say to you that people there, these soldiers, they know one thing : you're here. With them. You're ready to die. Next to them. They just need to know they matter. » added Poe, his voice just a whisper in the wind.

 

It took some time, but then Ben's hand was over Poe's one and Poe found out that he was loving this sight. His hand, the hand of the first knight, as the support of the prince's hand. And Poe knew at this moment that he wasn't Leia Organa's knight anymore but Ben Solo's. He would still respect his Queen of course, and obeyed her. But Poe had to protect the kingdom and the future of his home was in the hands of his man.

 

« You have my trust. And my respect. I know it isn't enough but- »

« It is. » answered back Ben, his eyes in Poe's. « But I'm not sure I deserve it. » added Ben, avoiding Poe's gaze again.

« Why ? » asked Poe, hurt clearly heard in his voice. He thought Ben and he were finally having an agreement, finally becoming closer, finally becoming friends.

« Because I think about doing something foolish. » said Ben, putting a piece of paper in Poe's hand.

 

Poe looked puzzled at his prince. Ben with a nod gave him the permission to read it. So he did. It was a personal letter, beginning with a _My dear friend_ and Poe felt a spark of something he wasn't clearly identifying yet burning in his chest. He thought that Ben's friends were all here with him. And yet, there was someone at their home who was thinking about Ben as a friend. Someone who nobody was aware of it.

 

« I wasn't aware. » whispered Poe, more for himself than for Ben but still, he heard him.

« Aware of what ? » asked the prince.

 

Poe blushed, not wanting to admit his thought to his prince. It could be hurtful, insinuating that Ben was unable to have friends outside his little circle of initiates.

 

« That you had another friend. » blurted out Poe after few seconds.

« Shocking right ?! » smiled sadly Ben.

« I'm sorry. » stammered Poe, feeling awful.

« That's alright Poe. » sighed Ben. « Nobody knows for my friendship with Benjen. » added the prince, smiling kind of fondly while talking about his friend.

 

Poe looked at his smile and wanted to see it again. Soon and often. And because of him. Poe frowned. He didn't have the right to be jealous. He could have been Ben's friend. If he had tried more. If he hadn't focused so much on his career. If he hadn't been so eager to gain Queen Organa's approval. This man didn't make the same mistakes and he gained Ben's friendship.

Benjen. Poe tried to put a face on this name. He succeeded. After some time. There was a Benjen, son of a diplomat who was doing his apprenticeship with his father at the Organa's court. His father was a respected man, clever and with a great talent for strategy. His son, Benjen, had the same talents and he would become one of the greatest counsellor in the future. Poe felt wonder at this thought. Ben was already creating links, relationships which would be important for him in the future. He was already acting like a prince even before he thought about it.

 

« He is a good man. » admitted Poe, giving back the letter without having read more of it.

« One of the cleverest. » answered Ben. « And his father too. That's why I seeked his advice. »

« What for ? » asked Poe, trying to follow Ben's thinking.

« I want to avoid this battle. I want to avoid this war. I want to avoid death and destruction. » answered Ben, his eyes, full of tears, looking back across the river. « I would do everything to not bring war to my father again. » sobbed Ben, his hand against his mouth, trying to hide his weakness.

 

Poe was lost. Why King Solo more than anybody else ? Why King Solo and not Queen Organa ?

 

« You and I, we are too young to remember the last war. » said Ben, closing his cloak on his chest, like to protect him to be so vulnerable in Poe's presence. « But I lived with it. For all my life, I lived with it. » said Ben, full tears rolling on his cheeks.

 

Poe couldn't help it. He took Ben's hands in his and brang them to his chest.

« It's always here. Everytime I look at him, it's here. » Ben bend down and his forehead posed on Poe's shoulder. « Did your parents told you about their adventures during the war ? » whispered, after a minute, Ben.

« Yes. » answered slightly Poe, an unsteady hand on Ben's neck.

« My father never did. » answered Ben, still hiding his face in Poe's cloak.

 

Poe tried to remember a time, a single time, of King Solo taking pride in his participation in the last war, sharing his old tales with other veterans. But then, he realized that it never happened. King Solo fled everytime someone was bringing the old war in the conversation. He was avoiding the old soldiers and the ceremonies to commemorate their victory. Poe's parents had each other to talk about war, to talk about the nightmares. But then King Solo had nobody. His wife, Queen Organa spent the last war in diplomatic missions, never experienced the reality of war and battle, with blood, fire and death. He never had the chance to recover from the things he saw there. He lived with that, not saying a thing. But Ben felt it. Ben felt his father's pain, his sadness and his fear.

 

« When he looks at me, it reminds him the guilt he has to be alive when so many of them didn't survive. I'm just a memory. » whispered Ben, finally leaving Poe's shoulder.

« I'm sorry Ben. » said Poe, wiping a tear on his prince's cheek. « You shouldn't feel like that. »

« Nobody should. » answered Ben. « But that's what war does. It destroys lives. And hearts. And sometimes souls. »

 

Poe looked at him, feeling his heart bursting with sadness but also love. Ben Solo wasn't a childish spoiled prince. He was a young boy with a stolen life. He was the heir of Queen Organa. He had no other choice than to accept it and to try to fill it. But he was also a son. The son of a man who has been haunted by war for the last thirties years. He was a son who learned to live with shadows he didn't know, regrets which weren't his own, fears he couldn't fight.

 

« We will protect him. I promise you. » said Poe, giving his open hand to Ben.

« That's not your battle Poe. » answered Ben, shooking his head, hiding his pain in the darkness of his hood.

« And it has never been yours. But still you're here. » said Poe with a firm voice. « Forget this ultimatum you wanted to proposed to them. Forget the negociations you were ready for. They don't deserve it. You don't deserve to humiliate yourself like that. You will fight. You will win. And you will show to your father that you have defeated war. » added the knight, with a new fierce fire consuming his heart.

 

Ben looked at him with his big brown eyes, a little bit amazed to have the support of a man he thought was kind of an enemy few weeks ago. A man asking him to be his brother in arms. A man ready to fight back to back with him. A man ready to die for him. A man he wanted to live for.

He grabbed Poe's forearm, sealing a new pact, a new alliance, more honorable than the one he had in mind at the beginning of the night. Poe grabbed his forearm, setting a new friendship, an unbroken link.

 

« If we die » began Ben.

« We die together. » finished Poe. « If we live »

« We live together. » said the Prince to his most trusted Knight.

 

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr: @midgardiannerd


End file.
